[SMM Iron & Steel] Over Half of World’s Green Steel Projects Are Postponed Due to High Capital Costs

Published: Jun 22, 2026 10:46

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A specialized global steel industrial census presented by the World Steel Association (Worldsteel) at a high-level metal forum in Singapore revealed that the international transition to low-carbon metallurgy has hit a severe wall. Official project monitoring data verified that approximately 50% of all planned global green steel projects have already been postponed or put on hold. Steelmakers and industry analysts confirmed that while governments have allocated just $20 billion of the estimated $1.5 trillion in capital required to completely decarbonize the primary metals sector, uncompetitive premiums for green hydrogen are freezing multi-billion-dollar investments in direct-reduction iron (DRI) infrastructure.

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